TIMESCAPE
by Damkina
Summary: The abduction of an alien from the past, brings about the destruction of a race in the future.


Title: TIMESCAPE

Author: Damkina (aka MrsVulcan - no longer in use on FFN)

Series: VOYAGER

Characters: Voyager Crew plus Original characters M/F

Disclaimer: These toys are not mine and I won't sell their bodies. I'm only playing in the sandpit with them, and will dust them off and put them away tidily when I'm done.

Summery: The abduction of an alien in the past brings about the downfall of a race.

_TIMESCAPE _

A few days after the Survey-ship _T'Prynne_ had set out from the planet _Ralaya_ on its four-week mission, the crew activated the ship's invisibility shield so that they wouldn't be detected by the early space travelling inhabitants and manoeuvred the ship into a low orbit around the planet.

Unable to summon the patience to keep in hiding any longer, for the sixth time since their departure, Tel'ar Vock nervously pulled his disrupter weapon from out of his jacket front and then crept out from the storage room at the stern of the ship. Although he didn't know if he could actually use a weapon against another sentient being, in desperation he had stolen it anyway and fled from his home when he had unexpectedly found himself alone for once.

The doors to the room slid open, and after listening for a moments, Tel'ar carefully made his way along the cramped corridor to try and find out if the ship had arrived at its intended destination. On hearing hurried footsteps coming down the metal steps from the control deck, he quickly slipped into a nearby room and hid in a dark corner behind a tall plant in the hope that whoever it was hadn't heard the sliding of the doors. As the time ticked by and still no one came to investigate, he breathed a sigh of relief and started to head back towards the door.

He had only taken a few steps when he noticed the huge blue and cloud-speckled ball of a planet that almost engulfing the whole window. Already knowing they were at the wrong planet, in panic he hurried to the window and leaned a hand on the thick glass whilst murmuring, "Where are we?"

The ship was supposed to go straight from Ralaya to the red-gold planet of Vulcan, where he had hoped to escape due to the similar body features of the Vulcan's to those of his own world. The fact that he was going to have to try and control his emotions to be able to blend in was going to be a problem, but he had pushed the thought to the back of his mind to worry about later. But how could he even think about going onto an alien planet without even knowing what the inhabitants looked like, or if they even had space travel technology?

Tel'ar stared down at the planet's surface, then out towards the dark background of space. There was only one small station within sight, and various manmade satellites floated nearby. There was nothing else for it, he would have to try and discover where he had obliviously been brought to, find out if the crew planned to go on to Vulcan, and hope that he wouldn't get caught in the process and taken back home.

The ship was only one of the small, eight-personnel survey craft, and Tel'ar was soon on a level with the science laboratory. Expecting to find someone pouring over samples of soil and plant life, he stopped walking, glanced around the doorframe and squinted through one of the horizontal clear strips in the frosted and toughened glass door. Instead of plants and biological canisters, his eyes rested on the horrifying scene of an experiment in progress on a fully conscious, screaming humanoid that lay strapped on a table in the middle of the room. Despite his revulsion of what was taking place, Tel'ar found that he just couldn't turn away and carried on watching in disgusted fascination.

"Who are you?" demanded an angry voice suddenly. "And what are you doing here?"

Tel'ar jumped in surprise as his head was painfully banged on the glass when the back of his jacket was grabbed and he was pushed forward before roughly being dragged round. The fact that Tel'ar was a full head taller didn't deter the crewman in the slightest, he impatiently pointed his own disrupter at Tel'ar's head and shook the youngster's arm when he didn't get an immediate reply. "Well? I'm waiting! Who are you?"

Before he could answer, the scientist came out of the room brandishing his own Disrupter and a knife and demanded, "Who's this?"

Realising what a dangerous situation he was in with the two weapons pointing at him, Tel'ar decided to pull rank and hoped that he would be believed and treated with some respect. He pulled his arm away from the old man's grasp, folded both arms across his chest as he stared haughtily down into the angry black eyes and announced, "I am Tel'ar Vock."

For just a moment he thought he was on safe ground as the old crewman warily backed off a couple of respectful steps.

"Tel'ar Vock?" repeated the scientist in voice that dripped with sarcasm. "You're Tel'ar Vock?"

As Tel'ar nodded an affirmative, the scientist burst out laughing, then suddenly went silent before pointing the Disrupter under the youngster's chin. "On your own? I don't think so. A member of the ruling house wouldn't be skulking down corridors of a science ship on his own and taking sneaky peaks into private rooms. I say you're here to spy and put an end to our profitable little scientific expeditions."

"You're making a big mistake," growled Tel'ar angrily. "I _am_ from the ruling house and _this_ is not science you're doing, it's torture and by law is not allowed."

"And who will find out about it?" asked the old crewman with a smirk creeping across his face. "It seams as though you're a hideaway, so who knows where you are? We aren't going home for at least another four weeks and all sorts of things could happen on some of those awful planets we visit. Wild beasts... slavers... merchants of body parts... The list goes on and on."

Although he was absolutely petrified, Tel'ar just carried on staring haughtily down at them as though he was indifferent to their threats, there was no way he was going to let them see his fear.

"Get him out of my sight!" snarled the crewman eventually. "Before I throw him out of the airlock. We've got enough problems on this cursed ship without having to watch him as well."

And without another word, Tel'ar was unceremoniously pushed into the science lab with the weapon still pointed at his head. "Get that thing cleaned up," ordered the supposed scientist as Tel'ar stumbled into the table. He then pressed the security lock on the corridor wall and walked away as the door automatically closed and locked as Tel'ar dived forward to try and stop it.

After uselessly pressing the door lock and having a futile attempt at trying to get his fingers into a non-existent gap down the middle of the glass to open the doors, in frustration, Tel'ar pounded the doors with his fists. Finally admitting defeat, he stood with his forehead leaning on the glass and snarled, "You won't hold me here for long."

He suddenly remembered the alien was still in the room and warily turned round to look for it. "There you are," he murmured as it cowered under a workbench in the far corner. It was obviously frightened. The eyes stared wildly at him as its body twitched when it tried unsuccessfully to get further into the crevice. In rapt fascination, Tel'ar saw yellow hair for the first time in his life. He also noticed that the blood splattered around the face and neck was red and not green as his was, and although the alien's eyebrows were in almost the same area that his were, they were more rounded above the eye rather than an almost diagonal line.

"I won't hurt you," he murmured as he took a step closer, but hurried across the room to put a hand on its mouth in case the noise brought one of the crewmen back when it started screaming again and yelling things in a language Tel'ar couldn't understand. "Shh!" he whispered as he held a couple of fingers in front of his mouth, then pointed to the doors before telling it to shush again.

The alien must have understood as it went quiet and glanced at the door before looking back at him, even though the poor thing was still quivering in fear. At the same time as he noticed that the blood was still trickling from its nose and mouth, and from somewhere on the side of its neck, Tel'ar realised with surprise that the bone structure of its face seemed to look similar to the females of his own race. It… she must be a female, he thought to himself, though he couldn't really be sure with the loose white medical gown it wore.

With curiosity getting the better of him, he couldn't help reaching out and touching the yellow hair that hung in curls around her shoulders and down her back, even though she turned her head away from him and tried to push his hand away. The gesture inadvertently brought one of her small, rounded ears into view. Absolutely fascinated, he ignored her protests and touched the smooth rounded edge, that were so unlike his own slightly pointed ones, then felt the skin and blood on her face and looked at it closely as the red blotch dried on his finger. "They seem to have the same texture as our own hair and blood," he murmured to himself.

"But," he said aloud to her, "I've been told to clean you up. I'll do it for your sake, but not because he told me to, all right?"

When all he got was a blank expression, he also realised that she couldn't understand him either. "I can see you're going to be good company," he muttered sarcastically.

He then stood up and reached for a nearby metal bowl that sat on the work bench, pushed it into a square hollow in the opposite wall, then pressed one of the three buttons on the panel above it to let warm water fill it almost to the brim. He then picked up a couple of cloths from a wall-mounted rack, dropped one into the bowl and started to walk back towards the alien. He didn't get very far before she was up on her feet and dodging round the other side of the centre table to get out of his way, babbling something at him that sounded threatening, but totally incomprehensible.

"I guess you don't like having a wash," he said to her with distaste and put both bowl and cloths on the table when her tirade ended with an angry hand gesture. "And I guess that wasn't very polite."

He breathed deeply to calm himself, folded his arms across his chest and turned his back on her as he walked towards the window to look at the unfamiliar planet and work out what he was going to do next. Although he knew it wasn't very good judgement to turn one's back on one's enemies, but knowing she was there, Tel'ar knew he would hear her slightest movement if she suddenly decided to throw something or try to creep up and attack him from behind.

As expected, he heard her trying to search quietly around the workbench and drawers, then mumble something before he heard the chink of metal as it tapped against another metal object. He turned his head towards her and raised his eyebrows in enquiry. "Are you going to throw it or save it to help us both try and get out of here?" Then after a pause, he murmured, "If only I could make you understand that I won't harm you, and that I'm a prisoner here as well..."

The long knife hurtled through the air in his direction, but missed and hit the window before clattering to the floor at his feet, and to the alien's obvious horror, Tel'ar hadn't even flinched.

The moment's silence that fell on the room as they both carried on staring at each other seemed to go on for an eternity. But just as Tel'ar debated on the uselessness on saying something else to her, the ship suddenly jolted and lurched as an explosion seared through its hull.

The alien screamed as she fell, then huddle up to the wall in self-preservation. Tel'ar only just managed to keep his balance by grabbing hold of a rack of shelves next to the window. In disbelief, he gasped as fragments of a meteor shower sped passed the ship and burned up in the planet's atmosphere far below.

"Someone move the ship," he pleaded, wondering why the crew hadn't got the sense to move themselves out of the way.

As the T'Prynne continued to jolt and be bombarded with meteors, Tel'ar staggered across to the door, pressed the lock on the wall to open the doors, then tried to get his fingers into the middle of them again when they didn't open. "Let us out!" he yelled as he banged his fists on the glass, but it was obvious that no one was going to come and help.

He suddenly remembered that all ships had escape hatches and turned to scan the walls for the possibility of finding one. On seeing two metal handles on either side of a raised pad near to the floor, he hurried across the room and was just about to pull the pad away from the wall when the voice of the computer came on the communication system.

"_Hull breach on Control Deck. Automated Stasis Field is now holding."_

Tel'ar quickly grabbed two mobile breathing apparatus masks from their hooks on the wall and tossed one to the alien. "There's a breach in the systems. You can obviously breathe the same air as we do, so you should be able to use it," he commented, knowing that she couldn't understand him, but feeling the need to talk as he gestured for her to put on the mask and follow him.

On the other side of the hatch lay a wall of heat and steam that hissed as it escaped through a ruptured pipe somewhere nearby, and Tel'ar literally had to drag the reluctant female through the gap and manoeuvre her along the corridor.

Yet another meteor hit the hull, sending a shudder through the ship that sent them both falling into a heap on the floor and part of the ceiling crashing down almost on top of them. Neither of them needed any convincing of how near they were to being blown to pieces as they scrambled to their feet and dodged falling debris.

"_Hull breach in the Engine Room... Automated Stasis Field is not holding," _announced the infuriatingly calm voice of the computer.

Although she despised the pointed eared _thing_ that was running alongside her, the female alien knew that he might be her only hope of survival. So, she kept quiet, kept hold of his arm and followed whatever he did.

They soon reached the Control Deck and scrambled up the metal ladder to find the deck completely clear of steam. To their horror, it was also clear of any personnel, and had a gaping jagged hole where the windows should have been. The only thing stopping them being sucked out into the abyss of space was the irregular blue-white flash of the stasis field across the nose of the ship.

In shock, the female stayed where she was for a moment, but Tel'ar went immediately to the control console only to find that the navigation system was out.

"Oh no!" he muttered as he crouched on the floor and pulled a panel away from under the console to see if he could discover what was wrong. It didn't take a genius to see what had happened. On such an old ship, it wasn't surprising that the whole relay had burnt out.

With a huff of annoyance, he slammed the panel cover on the floor, hurriedly got up and quickly began pressing various panels to try and get some movement out of the old wreck. "I suppose it doesn't really matter which way we go at the moment," he complained aloud, then impatiently pulled off the breathing apparatus due to lack of air in the canister. But after a few breaths, he quickly realised that the air on the control deck was already quiet thin, and knew instantly that it wouldn't be long before it ran out altogether.

When another direct hit sent an explosion of sparks shooting from the shielding console, the female pulled off her mask, hurried to his side and tried to make him understand that she wanted to help by pointing from herself to the consoles.

"Just stay out of the way," said Tel'ar firmly whilst shaking his head and manoeuvring her towards the back of the deck, where he left her gasping for breath as she crouched behind a jutting out wall panel. "It's likely to explode, so stay here." You can't go anywhere really; he thought miserably as he hurried back to the console, you're going to get blown into millions of carbon fragments the same as me.

But as he glanced at the stasis field, his jaw dropped when he saw a huge piece of meteor tumbling straight towards them. In desperation, he dived towards the console and almost pleaded encouragement as they flashed a couple of times in their reluctance to come back on. "Come back on... Please... Just give me enough power to get us out of the way."

The very second it came alight he slammed the heel of his hand onto the panel and prayed. The thrusters started up and the ship slowly began to move to one side. All the time he kept his eyes fixed on the rock as it hurtled nearer and nearer, and tried to 'will' it to slow down.

As soon as Tel'ar thought they were clear, he frantically pressed the panels to send them into light speed, but his timing was out by just a few seconds. The meteor scraped alongside the stern of the ship, sending them into spinning, tumbling ball of light as the engines went to full speed across the galaxy.

The overhead lights and consoles flickered and time seemed to slow down and make them take the full force of the shuddering trail of disaster. With gravity gluing him into the crevice made between the floor and underside of the console, Tel'ar just shut his eyes, tried not vomit and hoped they would survive.

After what seemed like an eternity, the ship suddenly came to a halt, the lights went out and the engines fell eerily silent. Wondering if it was a little premature to chant Meditative prayers for the wellbeing of space travellers, in the total darkness, Tel'ar slowly got to his knees and looked around him to try and get his bearings again.

On hearing no sound from the alien, he began to crawl towards her on his knees to make sure she was all right. But before he had even reached her, he realised how cold the deck was now getting, and that he was gasping for breathe and could hardly drag himself any further. _Life support!_ He thought in panic. _The life support has failed as well._

She'll have to manage on her own if she's still alive, he decided logically, I've got to get life support back on. But in total darkness, with the freezing temperatures of space seeping into the ship, whatever Tel'ar tried, no lights or life support came back on. The stasis field is still working, so why can't I get anything else to function, he wondered desperately.

Eventually, the air got so thin that he collapsed on the floor and lay on his back, staring dreamily up at the stars through the stasis field as he began falling into freezing unconsciousness. As he tried desperately to cling on to life, the last thing Tel'ar saw was an expanding spiral of space dust and energy that opened up like a funnel as its gravity pulled the ship towards its centre.

_A wormhole!_ he thought as his eyes finally closed.

"We have a third ship on an intercept course!" called Ensign Harry Kim from his Ops. Console at the back of the Bridge.

At the same time as Lieutenant Tom Paris checked his readouts, then navigated an evasive course out of the way, Captain Kathryn Janeway pressed the Comm system on the side of her chair and almost shouted, "B'Lanna, we need those phasers back on-line, now!"

"We're almost there," came the frantic reply from Engineering.

"The lead ship is firing again!" said Kim.

Janeway clutched hold of her chair. "All decks, brace for impact!"

As the Federation Starship sped through the Delta Quadrant, another hit from one of the pursuing ships jolted the

_U.S.S. Voyager_ and her crew.

"Shields are now at seventy percent," announced the Vulcan Security Officer, Lieutenant Tuvok from his Tactical station as everyone held on to whatever console they were working at so as not to be thrown across the Bridge.

"Casualty reports coming in," reported Tuvok a moment later.

"B'Lanna? Where are those phasers?"

"Phasers are back on-line, Captain," came a relieved call from the Chief of Engineering, B'Lanna Torres.

"Fire!"

A volley of phaser fire hit both ships, but didn't even manage to slow them down.

"We might have to use the torpedoes," suggested Commander Chakotay reluctantly. "I know we only have so many and they can't be replaced," he added reasonably when the Captain turned and looked at him and he was unable to decide what the expression on her face meant. "But we don't seem to have any other choice."

Janeway had already decided the same thing just a moment before, and immediately ordered Tuvok to ready the torpedoes.

"Torpedoes ready, and we are in range, Captain," said the dark-skinned Vulcan as calmly as if he were just announcing dinner and not a life or death situation.

Janeway nodded and almost growled, "Fire!"

In the few seconds pause as the bright lights of the torpedo left the ship and hurtled towards their target, everyone waited with bated breath in the hope that they would stop the attacking Delta Quadrant species. She felt that it was like being hunted down by the Vidiians, only this time the pursuers hadn't even introduced themselves, just their demands... Body parts. But to be hunted down and captured, to then be torn to shreds just wasn't an option, and Janeway knew that she would do anything to protect her crew from such a fate. She even harboured the thoughts that she would blow _Voyager_ up along with the their attackers if it came to the crunch.

Two eye-blinding explosions flashed across the main view screen on the torpedoes initial impact, followed by more explosions as the alien ship's weapons and plasma were ignited.

"A direct hit, Captain. Both ships disabled and destroyed," announced Tuvok unnecessarily.

"Is the third ship still on an intercept course?" called Janeway as she turned in her chair and looked at Kim in enquiry.

"No, they're at a stop," he answered confidently. "But..." Kim paused as he scanned through screens of information on his panel. "Captain... There's an expanding spatial anomaly opening up... straight ahead."

"Bring us out of warp, Tom, and put it on screen," ordered Janeway as both she and Chakotay stood and moved forward slightly to stand behind Paris at the Conn. Then after a pause, "Full scan, Harry, and magnify."

In between panels being scanned and readings being collated and discussed, everyone watched in curiosity as the rapidly rotating mass of blue-tinted matter grew wider and blocked out multitudes of star systems behind it.

"Captain, may I suggest we move Voyager to a safe distance," suggested Tuvok as the swirls continued to expand. "Until we can ascertain whether it is a threat."

"Do it, Tom," ordered the Captain after a nod of acknowledgement in Tuvok's direction, and then looked back at the screen.

Into a moments silence came an amused, incredulous snort from Kim. Chakotay smiled as he turned round, wondering what he found so amusing. "What is it?"

"It-it's a wormhole!"

Captain Kathryn Janeway imagined that she could just guess everyone's train of thoughts at that precise moment.

_Delta Quadrant, plus Wormhole, equals Alpha Quadrant, equals Home. _And for the first time in weeks, she let herself believe that they might get there.

But... "Tuvok, send in a probe. I want as much information as we can get, as soon as possible."

"Probe launched, Captain," said Tuvok almost immediately, making her wonder if he had already prepared it beforehand.

Chakotay, now getting used to the Captain's reactions to different situations, chuckled as he watched her try and keep her excitement under check in front of the crew. "It looks like I might get another swim in the Gulf of Mexico, after all," he said hopefully.

Kathryn smiled at him and murmured. "Name the day, and I'll come and join you."

"Captain... there's a ship coming through the anomaly," came Kim's stunned observation. "The emerged ship has sustained heavy damage. There's also a Hull breach and life support is off-line throughout the ship."

"Life signs?" demanded Chakotay.

"Three... faint, but they're alive." Then in absolute disbelief, Kim looked up as he announced... "One Human and two Ralayans. It-It's from the Alpha Quadrant!"

"Is it Federation?" asked the Captain as she almost 'frog-marched' across the Bridge to look at the data herself.

"No."

But the spark of hope was quickly dashed.

"Curious..." observed Tuvok as he scanned his panel and then systematically rechecked his readings. "There is also a temporal anomaly dissipating away from the ship. Captain, I would advise caution, I believe the ship has not only travelled from the other side of the Galaxy, but also through time. At this moment, it would not be wise to go into the wormhole without intense study."

Ensign Kim wasn't the only one who sighed in dismay and swallowed a distraught lump in his throat on realising that Tuvok was right that they couldn't possibly go through the wormhole in case they ended up in the wrong time, even if it might be the right Quadrant.

Pushing her disappointment to one side to deal with later, but wondering what had happened in the Alpha Quadrant to bring the small ship across the Galaxy in such a state, Janeway hurried to Tuvok's console and looked at his readings. "Tom, as soon as the ship has cleared the graviton field, head in at one quarter impulse," she ordered. "I want that ship checked for contaminants before we beam them to Sick Bay. If it's clear, tractor the ship into the Shuttle Bay until we can find a way to send them back."

"Aye, Captain," answered Paris after a moment's concerned hesitation.

"Tuvok, take a Security team down to Sick Bay in case they're awake. If they've already been in a combat situation, who knows how they'll react."

Alarmed at the decision to send the survivors back into such a situation, Chakotay hurried to her side and whispered so that only Tuvok heard what was being said. "With the damage already being inflicted on their ship, do you think it wise to send them back into whatever sent them here? There might be a whole fleet waiting for them if they go back through."

Janeway shook her head and answered him in lowered tones herself. "Chakotay, don't you think _we've _altered events and the time line of the Delta Quadrant enough, without leaving three more variables to muddy the pond? We have enough people to take care of and get back home to the Alpha Quadrant in the same time-line, never mind adding to the crew with beings from who-knows-when."

"But what if they're _supposed_ to come through?"

Kathryn leaned her elbow on Tuvok's console and rested her chin in the palm of her hand. "It's one of those damned temporal loops, isn't it? I swore I'd never get into one, and yet here we are again." She sighed and shook her head in exasperation, but before she could say any more, or Chakotay and Tuvok could answer, Kim's warning carried across the Bridge.

"The alien ship is on an intercept course for the emerged ship, Captain."

"Are we in transporter range? Can we bring the survivors aboard?"

"No."

"Tuvok, bring weapons systems on-line," she ordered.

"Red Alert!" warned Chakotay.

"Tom, alter our course to intercept that ship."

"Yes ma'am."

Janeway then walked forward, leaned on the rail that separated the two deck levels of the Bridge and waited in grim determination. The three survivors in the small ship could be from the Alpha Quadrants dreaded Orion Syndicate for all she cared at the moment, but she was determined that whilst she stood on the Bridge as Captain, the Delta Quadrant aliens weren't getting even one strand of hair from anyone. And this time she wasn't even giving them a chance to shoot first. She gave the order that the moment _Voyager _was in range; the alien ship was to be fired upon without any warning, hesitation or further orders being given.

Depleted of another torpedo, yet one less alien harvester to worry about, the crew of Voyager headed back to the location of the wormhole. But even with the main screen magnified, it was obvious to the naked eye that the rotating spirals of its outer rim were quickly depleting as its centre funnel got smaller and narrower.

"Captain's Log... Supplemental... The Science and Security teams are satisfied that there are no residual temporal anomalies or contaminants aboard the Survey-ship T'Prynne, and all three survivors will now be beamed straight to SickBay."

Janeway pressed her Comm. badge. "Janeway to Sick Bay. Doctor, do you have them?"

"Yes, Captain."

Realising that the medical staff needed to be left to do their job, she announced, "I'll join you shortly... Janeway out. Can we get our probe back?" she then asked Kim hurriedly, not wanting to loose any more pieces of hardware that couldn't easily be replaced.

"Already on its way," confirmed Kim.

"B'Lanna, is the T'Prynne in the Shuttle Bay yet?"

"It's just about to come through the Bay doors, Captain," sent back the half Klingon engineer.

"I want all crew manifests, logs and any personnel journals down loaded as soon as possible."

"We're on it, Captain."

"Tuvok, you're with me," said Janeway as she headed for the Turbo Lift. "You have the Bridge, Chakotay, and if anyone needs me, I'll be in Sick Bay visiting our time travellers."

As the Turbo Lift doors opened on the deck to SickBay, Tuvok's Comm badge chirped and the Doctor's voice mingled with the sound of the doors closing again. "Sick Bay to Lieutenant Tuvok."

Tuvok tapped his badge as he carried on walking alongside the Captain. "Tuvok here."

"I need an additional security team here, immediately!"

"We're on our way." Tuvok then ordered his security team to Sick Bay as he and the Captain started running there themselves.

With the commotion going on when the doors opened and dodging a PADD as it came hurtling towards them, Janeway thought she would be forgiven for mistakenly thinking she had walked into a Klingon bar after a few hours drinking. In surprise, she immediately saw one of Tuvok's security team picking himself up from off the floor with one of the female Medical team putting a hyperspray to his neck.

About to bend down to check that the Security Officer was all right, the Captain couldn't help staring in astonishment as two Vulcan-looking males emerged from the far side of one of the beds down the right-hand wall, and continued to beat the hell out of each other. At the same time she noticed the Doctor leaning over the other security crewman across the far side of the room, and was relieved to see him sat up and alert, even though it was obvious that his arm was dislocated.

But Tuvok was already moving in to stop the strangers fighting, when one of them was hurled across one of the beds and landed heavily on the floor between the next two along. The one who threw him leaped after him and grabbed the other's jacket to carry on where he left off, but stopped when Tuvok's phaser pressed into the side of his head and his voice warned, "I suggest you cease, immediately." Then three more security officers ran in and readied their phasers as they surrounded the two strangers.

Absolutely furious at what they had done to her Security men, and at their wanton destruction of Sick Bay when the crew of Voyager had put themselves at such risk to save their necks from decapitation, Janeway almost snarled, "I am Captain Kathryn Janeway of the Starship Voyager. I don't care for your total lack of disregard for my crew.

Do you understand me?"

The one that was still on his feet nodded once then let go of his victim and murmured, "Yes."

"Good. Lieutenant Tuvok, they may be guests, but even guests come under the rules of this ship. Allocate a Security team to them, and get them out of SickBay. I'll talk to them later, when they've had time to cool off."

Tuvok nodded, but as the first male, who definitely looked Vulcan, was moved away, Tuvok quickly knelt down to check the other. "Captain... he is dead. His neck is broke."

Horrified at the way events were taking their unexpected turn, Janeway tried to shut out the protest from the killer as she wondered what to do with the dead body and watched the Doctor home in on the Ralayan to try and revive him.

"Although I did not intend to kill him," came the calm, logical voice when every effort to save the man proved fruitless, "For his crimes, he deserves everything he got!"

At that moment, Janeway felt like putting the cold sounding voice and its owner back on his lifeless ship and leaving him in the Delta Quadrant to get back from wherever he came from on his own. But... "Take him to the Brig," was all she said.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Janeway first checked on the downed Security team, who were both sitting on a couple of Bio-beds, nursing quickly disappearing cuts and bruises as the Emergency Medical Holographic Doctor and the nurse finished treating them.

"What happened, Doctor?" she asked.

"Both males had been treated for hypothermia and respiratory complications after going without air for so long, when they both woke up at the same time and noticed that the other had managed to survive. Needless to say, both weren't very happy and proceeded to try to kill each other.

"We tried to stop them, Captain," offered one of the security men.

_They're just boys, really,_ though Kathryn as she looked at them and made yet another silent promise. _I will get you all home. _But the lad carried on. "But... they're Vulcan," and the shrug he gave seemed to say it all. A Vulcan, with a Vulcan's extraordinary strength compared to that of a human.

"They're Ralayans, actually," came the Doctor's chirpy voice. "You are both fine. You can go."

Feeling quite sorry for them both after such a walloping and 'brush off' from the Doctor, Janeway smiled and said, "Both of you make a report to Lieutenant Tuvok, then take a day of R and R. and I'll sort rota out myself."

Now smiling themselves, they got off the beds, said their thanks and headed out of the door with renewed vigour.

"Now Doctor, how is our other patient?" asked Janeway when the doors closed.

As they walked over to Bio-bed one, the bed that was most used in Sick Bay, the first thing the Captain noticed was the mop of curly mousy-blond hair that straggled across the cushioned head-rest, and framed a human face.

"I would prefer to leave her to sleep a while longer if possible, Captain," suggested the Doctor. "This woman has had tests and examinations performed on her that are from the Dark Ages. When she first arrived, she was covered in her own blood; she also has had holes drilled into her teeth and implants inserted in her nose and neck. She also had hypothermia from being on a ship without life support, but luckily for her, it wasn't for too long. I have removed the implants and treated all the affected areas."

"Will she be all right?"

"Physically? She's fine, though I can't even start to give you a complete analysis of the trauma she's going to have."

"Did she have any identification with her?" asked Janeway. She had noticed that the human female now lay in one of Voyager's blue medical suits and wondered were the clothes she came in had been put.

"No. She only had a white medical gown on."

"Leave her to sleep, then," agreed Janeway. "Her belongings are probably still on the T'Prynne. The wormhole they came through has vanished without trace, so they won't be going anywhere soon. I'll try and get my answers from elsewhere for the moment."

"Captain! I'm sorry, we haven't quite finished our analysis yet," apologised the half Klingon Chief Engineer, B'Lanna Torres as she looked up from her Tricorder when Janeway strode into the Shuttle Bay.

"No problem, B'Lanna," assured Janeway with a smile. "I've just come to see what you _have _got." But she could already see the heavy damage the ship had sustained, and with the gaping hole in the stern's underside that revealed part of an engine room, she wondered how anyone could have survived such ferocious impacts.

As she walked alongside the Captain, B'Lanna reeled off and pointed out the findings of her Engineering staff. "With the astro-metric readings, the human female's ID, and the meteor impacts on the hull, we've been able to plot the course of their journey. The crew travelled from Ralaya to Earth, but whilst in orbit, for some reason the ship's engines went off-line and the crew were unable to get them going again."

B'Lanna paused and looked at the unbelievable data on the screen as if looking at it would somehow change it. "Captain... the ship got caught in the orbital path of the Geminid Meteor Shower that passed Earth in 1998."

Janeway swallowed and shut her eyes for a moment before looking at B'Lanna and muttering, "When Tuvok said they had travelled through time, I thought they might have come from the last few decades... or the last century at most, but..."

She put a hand on her hip as she walked across the deck and back again. "We have a human female in Sick Bay from the late twentieth century when Earth's space travel was still in its early stages... how is she going to adjust to life so far from what she knows?"

"They're all just so lucky to have got out alive," added B'Lanna eventually. "Even at its peak, the only thing holding this ship together was a lot of luck and a prayer."

Janeway shook her head and sighed. "And I'm afraid we only have one Ralayan on board, now. The moment they woke up, they decided to try and kill each other... one of them succeeded."

Yet another thing that sheds confusion on the T'Prynne's crew, thought B'Lanna. "There's something else for you to see, Captain," she said, and then went to press on of the pads on the console by the wall. "Computer... display the T'Prynne's visual data from the Science Lab."

On a small screen emerged the inside of the laboratory from an angle that suggested the view screen was located in a corner near the ceiling. But immediately the screams of the human echoed loudly as one of the Ralayans experimented on her.

"The two we brought aboard," observed the Captain.

The visual then skipped to the following moments after the younger Ralayan was pushed into the room after having a weapon pointed under his chin in the doorway.

"Now why would he be so different?" murmured Janeway as she watched his reactions to the human female.

"I don't think he was part of the crew," suggested B'Lanna. "We can't find his ID on any of the personnel manifests."

After a silent moment of thought, Janeway let the Engineers carry on with their duty, ordered Tuvok to join her in the Brig, then left the Shuttle Bay.

Trying to keep the outward appearance of calm as the dark skinned Vulcan made another appearance in the room beyond, Tel'ar closed his eyes and clasped his hands together near his forehead as he sat cross-legged on the padded seating in the 'Brig', then mentally examined his limited options. His hurried plans had gone awry from the very beginning, and to be truthful to himself, he was absolutely petrified. He hadn't a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, he only remembered that the T'Prynne had drifted into the wormhole's spiralling funnel before everything had faded from vision.

Then the first thing he laid eyes on when he woke up was the damn scientist that had done all the sickening experiments on the yellow-haired female. This had been one of those rare occasions where his anger had boiled uncontrollably to the surface and all he had wanted to do was to fight. He didn't mean to injure anyone else, but once he had begun, something had snapped inside him and he just couldn't stop.

And now the felon was dead.

Tel'ar had also realised that despite this ship's crew being made up from various different worlds, they had somehow managed to find a way of translating which ever language each of them spoke, and therefore, they would understand him, and he would now understand them. He just hoped they let him survive long enough to find out just how it had been accomplished.

On hearing more footsteps coming across the outer room, he opened his eyes and a moment later; the female who had had him put in here stepped into view just outside the forcefield door. Hoping that she didn't decide to carry out her earlier threat and leave him on a doomed ship, he respectfully stood and held his hands behind his back in case they started shaking and gave away his fear.

After balefully glaring at him for a silent moment as if weighing him up for later execution of sentence, Janeway's voice carried across all the anger she felt. "Tell me why I shouldn't put you back on your ship and let you find your own way back home?"

Tel'ar quickly decided that he didn't really stand a chance, but tried to explain anyway. "I didn't mean to injure your crew, Captain, for that I offer my apologies. It was an unfortunate accident, as was the death. I am not usually violent, and again, I must apologise."

"How do we know that you haven't killed before and won't kill again?" asked Tuvok from Janeway's side.

"My only aim was to give _him_ the unique prospective of what it may be like to be on the receiving end of being inflicted with unnecessary pain, and not being able to put an end to it. I can only give you my word that I have never killed before, and I don't intend to kill again."

With what she had already seen on the view screen, then reading between the lines, Janeway saw an eloquent young Ralayan who looked about twenty Earth years old, who had taken it upon himself to pay someone back for another's inflicted injuries. She suspected it was the human female, but said, "You'll have to do better than that. Who was being put in unnecessary pain?"

Tel'ar sighed and the obvious sadness showed on his face as his voice carried the disgust he felt. "There was a female on the ship who had similar body features to you. I suspect that the crew of the T'Prynne abducted her from the planet they were orbiting... though I didn't recognise it, then they systematically experimented on her. Apparently, they did a regular sale of abducted alien body parts, alien experimentation and information gathering whilst supposedly on survey missions from my home planet."

Sounds like the Vidiians and the aliens we've just routed, thought Janeway. Then asked him, "What was your job on these 'survey' missions?"

"I wasn't part of the crew, I was trying to get to Vulcan, but they captured me when I came out of hiding to find out where we were."

"You're a stowaway?" asked Janeway in surprise.

At his puzzled expression, she blinked and looked at the youngster in pity. How do we tell him that he's not only on the other side of the Galaxy, but also a few hundreds of years in the future? she wondered.

"No, I am not Stowaway... I am Ralayan," said the confused youngster on thinking she had got his species mixed up. "I was trying to get to Vulcan. And if I couldn't blend in, I was going to claim my freedom by declaring the 'Vulcan Bill Of Rights."

"The Bill Of Rights is for Vulcans," observed Tuvok.

"Ralayans were originally from Vulcan," argued Tel'ar with what he hoped was logic, "Therefore, I have the right to claim my freedom, as is written."

"Freedom from what?" demanded Janeway.

"The life that has already been planned out for me since I was a child," announced the Ralayan in misery as he walked to the edge of the force field. "Of which I have no desire to follow."

Tel'ar then held out his hands in entreaty and pleaded for sanctuary. "I'll do anything for you, but _they _named me Tel'ar Vock and I know I can't... I won't do what they're expecting of me. I don't belong in a Monastic Sanctuary; please don't send me back to Ralaya. Please don't take me back."

"We..." began Janeway, but was suddenly interrupted when Tuvok asked, "Captain, may I speak with you in private." She nodded in agreement, told Tel'ar that they would speak again then strode away with her thoughts in a quandary.

Standing stiffly in the middle of empty room adjacent to the Brig, Tuvok began to explain _who _and _what_ Tel'ar Vock was.

"After the 'Time of Awakening' when Vulcans embraced logic, several groups, including those that became the Ralayans decided to leave the homeworld and colonise elsewhere in the Galaxy. The Ralayans are, and always have been... emotional, though the priest sect has always adhered to a monastic, chaste rule that teaches self defence and space travel to defend the planet in times of need. The hereditary rulers of Ralaya have traditionally sent one male child from each generation into the priesthood on the first after his Pon Farr has been purged. The ruling family will then carry the 'luck' and be protected as they are joined with the deity through their 'Priest' family member. The honoured male child's title from the day they are chosen for the privilege, to the day they enter the sanctuary is Vock."

"I take it, Tel'ar Vock might have been that 'honoured' child?" ventured Janeway. "And a very unwilling one at that."

"It would appear so." Tuvok pressed a couple of panels on the PADD he had been carrying, then switched to the console along the wall and tapped a few more panels when he had received B'Lanna's astro-metric readings from the T'Prynne. "Computer... display picture of the ruling house of Ralaya in Romulan space."

"Please specify what date," it replied.

"At the time equivalent to Earth's 2006 Geminid Meteor Shower."

A moment later, a very unclear formal picture of a group of people flashed up on the screen. "Computer... magnify and enhance the figure in the centre of this picture," said Tuvok.

As the figure enlarged and became clear, Janeway gasped and leaned closer to get a better look. "It's him!" she said.

"Yes." Tuvok then paused for a moment before telling the Captain of the full implications of Tel'ar being in this actual picture, and now on Voyager.

"The chronicles of Vulcan do tell of one Vock priest of Ralaya who disappeared before he was to enter the sanctuary. Before that year was out, the Romulans invaded Ralaya and the planet became part of the Romulan Empire, as it is to this day."

Even though she was more scientific that spiritual, Janeway couldn't help saying, "It seems that the Vock priest took the protection of the deity away from Ralaya."

"It would appear so."

"Were they known to be a violent race, Tuvok?"

"Violent... no, emotional... yes. And as I have said, the sanctuary priests were taught self-defence and space travel, and were not allowed to kill any sentient being unless it became necessary for Ralaya's survival. I do not believe he has killed before or intends to kill again."

Janeway sighed in agreement. "After seeing what happened to the human girl, I think I'd want to do the same." Changing the subject, she then asked him, "Do you think they would both fit in with the crew, Tuvok?"

"Where else can they go?" answered Tuvok logically.

"If they want to come with us, I'm sure B'Lanna could use an extra pair of hands in Engineering, but what the girl could do I'm at a loss."

"I would also advise caution, there may be ill-content between them both for what has occurred, it may cause problems."

Janeway smiled and began to walk out of the room as she talked. "I'm sure we can deal with that if or when it arises. And who's to say our guest hasn't brought the luck and protection of the deity with him, he might just help us get Voyager home earlier... and in one piece."

She then paused just inside the doorway and said, "Do I call him 'Vock' or 'Your Highness?"

Tuvok lifted an eyebrow at her grinning face, though he didn't offer a reply as she put on a more sober expression and they carried on walking, he had got acquainted with the Captain's humour over the years and knew that she didn't expect him to answer.

Janeway and Tuvok went back into the Brig, and after looking into the pleading dark brown eyes for a moment, the Captain pressed the door panel to release the forcefield and stepped into the holding cell.

"Tel'ar Vock, I'm very sorry, but we can't take you to Vulcan, or back home if we wanted to," she said softly. At his worried expression, she told him why. "You see... when the T'Prynne entered the wormhole, it not only pulled you half-way across the Galaxy, but it also brought you hundreds of years into the future."

As she carried on talking about being in the twenty fourth century in the Delta Quadrant, the wormhole disappearing, the T'Prynne being a total wreck and Ralaya now in Romulan space, Tel'ar found that he just couldn't find anything to say and just stared at her in shock. Eventually, it was what she didn't say that made him turn away and glare at the walls, unable to find any reason not to believe her. Without saying it, he knew that his family would be long dead by now, and although he had tried to escape his fate and Ralaya, the thought of them all being gone for so long hung like a weight around his neck.

"You are welcome to stay aboard Voyager," came the Captain's voice. "As we're trying to get back to that Quadrant of space ourselves."

Suddenly realising that she was stood in front of him and looking expectantly up into his eyes, he nodded once, but finding that his meditative prayers and chants had deserted him, murmured, "It's all my fault... I left Ralaya to be invaded. It's my fault. It's..."

The Captain gently manoeuvred him back onto the seat and stayed with him as his grief pushed every other thought from his mind. "It's my fault... it's my fault," he kept repeating over and over, and nothing she said could make him think otherwise for a long while.

Lying on her side, the feel of the soft padded mattress under her body, and being covered by a warm woollen blanket with no pain searing her nerve endings was both a comfort and a relief to the young human female, Amanda Dawson.

What a nightmare, she thought groggily as she slowly returned to consciousness and attempted to open her sticky, sleep-filled eyes. I hope I don't have another one of those again in a hurry.

The subdued lighting of the room seemed to help her eyes adjust to being open for a few seconds at a time as she tried unsuccessfully to dash aside the horrific dream of being abducted by aliens with pointed ears. Amanda remembered driving for quite a few miles along the Snake Pass and told herself that she had got home safe and sound. Smiling at the thought of home and stretching her legs out, she suddenly realised that the bed didn't feel like her own. Amanda quickly opened her eyes to see where she was and stared owlishly at the strange room as everything shot into focus.

From the bed she was laying on, she noticed what looked like computer panels on each side in a small circular section of a larger room. She could also see the back view of a desk in the centre, and beyond that, three more beds along the left-hand wall with lights and electrical charts above each. Passing over what looked like 'lift' doors on the far wall, light streamed out of a glass-windowed room from where a deep male voice softly sang snippets of opera.

Although the room seemed like a hospital room with the greyish walls and neutral colour carpet and equipment, it didn't have the clinical feel about it that wards usually have... this was quite high-tech.

Where the hell am I? I must have had an accident, she thought in horror, but just as she was about to call for a doctor, what she had presumed was lift doors, slid open and from a corridor beyond, in walked a... a...

Amanda shut her eyes, lay frozen to the bed in fear and prayed for her nightmare to come to an end. Let me wake up! Please let me wake up! First the space ship following her, which, she had initially, thought was a Rescue helicopter searching for lost climbers on the Pennines. Then the unimaginable experiments by pointed-eared aliens that her sleeping mind had conjured up, and now this... a bald man with a blue head in what looked like fancy black pyjamas with a yellow panel across the shoulders.

"Good evening, Mr Chell," she heard someone say pleasantly. "What can I do for you?"

"Well... actually, Doctor..."

Amanda didn't want to hear the reply, she was too busy trying to tell herself to ignore everything and wake up. A few moments later, the doors opened and shut again and the soft singing resumed where he had left off.

"I'll be damned if I'm going to lay here and be poked and prodded again," murmured Amanda whilst lifting back the blanket and swinging her feet down onto the floor. "A dream it may be, but I'm out of here!"

She then noticed a trolley near the bed containing various electrical items and tools. Without even knowing what they were or what they did, but thinking that anything might become useful towards her escape, Amanda quietly took a small box-shaped object with lights on and a couple of longer, narrower pieces. Then, bare-footed in the pale blue, knee-length gown she was wearing that hung loosely over matching trousers, she tip-toed to the edge of the window surrounding what turned out to be an office.

A brown-haired, balding middle-aged man sat at a desk, tapping buttons on a laptop computer as he continued to sing. Distractedly noticing that he wore the same pyjama-come-uniform that the blue-headed alien wore, though his shoulder panel was blue and not yellow, she glanced at the doors and debated on how quick they would open if she took off at a run. And more to the point, what would she find on the other side?

Just as she took one last look at the man sat in the office he glanced up and began to smile at her as he hurried to stand. In panic, Amanda ran at the doors and straight into a long corridor as the doors slid open at her approach.

"Amanda!" called the EMH as he grabbed his Mobile Emitter from its padded dish on his desk, slapped it onto his arm and switched it on as he hurried towards the door. "Amanda! Wait!"

With a deep breath and terror making her feel queasy, Amanda set off at an all-out run down the long, winding corridor to who knew where.

"Sick Bay to Captain Janeway!" called the Doctor over the Comm system.

"Janeway here," announced the Captain a moment later.

"Captain, Amanda Dawson has woken up and ran out of Sick Bay. I didn't get chance to examine or talk to her, but I think she's still in shock and under the impression that she can somehow escape off the ship."

"Which way is she heading?"

"Towards Section 23."

"Follow her, Doctor. We're on our way, I don't want any Security Force-fields going up as she's going to be frightened enough as it is."

"Understood. Doctor out."

Almost running into a couple of women coming towards her, who slowed down and edged closer as they called out. "Don't be frightened, everything will be alright," Amanda stopped, backed up a few steps, turned and with her blond curls flying in all directions, dodged down another nearby corridor.

But on reaching the cross-section at the end and looking both ways, she literally wilted in disbelief... the corridor looked exactly like the ones she had just run down. With the two women she had just seen hurrying up the corridor behind her and spotting someone else walking along the corridor she was now stood in, Amanda desperately ran towards the only option open to her, knowing she was now running in more-or-less, a circular maze that was inescapable.

"What the...?" she mumbled in confusion as huge windows suddenly loomed along yet another corridor to her left.

She stumbled to a stop in disbelief and just gaped out into the black abyss of space. "Will this nightmare ever come to an end?" she pleaded tearfully as she watched dots that she guessed were distant stars, flash passed beyond a huge rounded oblong wing jutting out from further down the outside of the ship.

More hurried footsteps came to a halt behind her and after a silent moment, a woman's voice spoke. "I know this must be very strange and frightening for you, but you're now safe and-"

"Stay away!" yelled Amanda in panic as she turned and back up against the window when she sensed the woman was getting nearer to her. "Don't you dare come one step closer or I'll break your bloody neck!"

She warily stared at the small group that had gathered and took a few deep breaths to try and calm her shattered nerves. "I know I'm in the middle of a dream and you lot don't really exist, in fact... I don't even know why I'm wasting my time and bothering talking to you all," she gabbled nervously. "But... we're all going to wait here until I either wake up or you send me home."

Full of pity, despite the threats and swearing, Captain Janeway carried on talking to try and calm the girl's fears as she took a couple of slow steps forward. "I'm afraid that all this is very real, Amanda. I'm Captain Kathryn Janeway... and you're now safe aboard the Starship Voyager."

"Rubbish! I'm in the middle of a bloody nightmare!"

Calmly gesturing a hand towards Chakotay, Janeway continued, "This is my First Officer, Commander Chakotay... then we have Lieutenants Nicoletti and Kumar, Ensign Wildman and our Emergency Medical Holographic Doctor. And although you've already met, may I also into..."

Before she had chance to introduce him, Amanda suddenly saw the pointed-eared alien that had been locked in the room of the wrecked ship with her. Despite the fact that in her dream, she knew he had somehow saved her life... she made herself want to hate him, she desperately wanted to hate him. "And what do you think you're looking at... you bloody over-grown Elf!" she shouted in anger that boiled alongside the fear that she was literally going insane.

For a just a moment she relished his obvious discomfort, but knew she was surrounded, knew she couldn't get off this ship and couldn't even wake up until all the scenes had played themselves out. She dropped the objects she had stolen as tears began streaming down her face and slumped to the floor in a sobbing heap as everyone hurried nearer and Janeway put her arms around the girl's shoulders to try and console her.

"Please, let me go home," came her heartbroken sobs.

"We're taking you back to Earth, Amanda," answered Janeway as she held the distraught seventeen year old and looked up into the unhappy chocolate-brown, tear-filled eyes of the young Ralayan, "But it's now a far distant place from the home you knew." Both Tel'ar and Amanda's positions are far worse than anyone aboard Voyager, thought Janeway to herself sadly. Everyone has lost family and friends when we were pulled across the Galaxy, but these two have also been torn away from the worlds they knew and are now stranded hundreds of years from home.

Silently praying as he looked down at the curly yellow head bent over in grief, Tel'ar promised himself that he would do anything he could to help her as they both adjusted to life aboard the Starship. He had already guessed that she had been very derogatory when she had shouted at him, and even though he didn't know what an 'over-grown elf' was, he hoped he was right in presuming she had said it because of what she had recently been through.

Although deeply unhappy about what had happened, and over the last hours had been talking with the Captain and Commander Tuvok about it, Tel'ar had systematically and logically analysed his present situation. Once he had recovered from the shock of loosing his family, he began to realise that if he had entered the Monastic Sanctuary on Ralaya, he would never have been able to approach and talk to any of them again anyway. He would have been shut away for most of the year with the rest of the monks and only given an airing in society at 'High Religious Ceremonies'. Deep down, he liked and found comfort and direction in the observances of his faith, but that didn't mean he would find contentment in spending all day - every day in prayer and meditative chants.

Reaching a decision, he stepped round Commander Chakotay, knelt down beside the human female and tentatively reached out a shaking hand to rest on her shoulder. "I am sorry, Amanda," he whispered. "For you, for me, and for these good people who have saved our lives. But you and I must..."

Before he could say anymore, Amanda shrugged his hand off her shoulder, turned hate-filled eyes on him and just stared through wet strands of curly hair as tears continued to fall.

"Tel'ar," whispered Janeway, then patted his arm when he looked down at the floor in even more misery and gave him a little smile. "Don't worry, she doesn't really mean it, it will just take time... Go with Commander Chakotay to the Mess Hall and we'll talk again soon." She then glanced towards her First Officer and said, "Commander, see that Tel'ar gets something to eat, allocate him some Quarters and Replicate some clothes. And if you feel up to it," she added to Tel'ar, "Maybe a tour of the ship to meet some of the crew might help you settle in sooner."

"Aye Captain!" answered Chakotay with an encouraging smile at the young Ralayan. "Shall we?"

Tel'ar sighed and thanked the Captain, and with one more look into the unhappy, blue human eyes in the hope of finding some forgiveness there, stood up and walked into a complete new life.

A couple of days later, after making repairs and evading yet more of the alien ships, Voyager was back on her way towards home as her crew analysed and logged the Wormholes data and her new crew members, adjusted to routine.

Tel'ar was sitting in the Mess Hall after his introductory duty shift in Engineering, eating a bowl of Plomeek soup that the Talaxian; Neelix had made. After the first spicy mouthful felt like it had nearly took away the lining from the inside of his mouth, he vowed to use his allocated Replicator rations for a bowl in future.

"Neelix presumes that every ingredient of a dish, must have its equal in the amount of spices added," commented Ensign Vorik from his place across the table as Tel'ar gulped down a whole glass of water.

"I don't think my stomach will survive this journey," he complained breathlessly to the young Vulcan, who he seemed to have befriended.

"How do you like my 'Plomeek soup a la Neelix, Mr. Tel'ar?" asked the spotty little Talaxian jovially as he approached them from behind his kitchen counter.

"It-it's very... um... spicy, Neelix," stammered Tel'ar in embarrassment.

Neelix didn't seem to notice the Ralayan's discomfort and happily announced that; "You Vulcans need your taste buds broadening. There's a whole Quadrant of variety that you haven't even heard of yet."

Not really knowing what else to say, Tel'ar just muttered that he looked forward to it. He had already decided that it was a waste of time reminding the Talaxian, yet again, that he wasn't a Vulcan, but wondered if his 'taste buds' would ever taste anything again.

Happy that he had converted the bland tastes of at least one Vulcan, Neelix went back to his cooking pots as other members of the crew began to arrive for lunch.

In between getting acquainted with the spicy taste of the soup and talking to Vorik, he suddenly realised that one of the figures who had just come through the Mess Hall doors was the human; Amanda. When he turned to look at her properly, he realised what the Captain had meant when she had told him that Amanda still wasn't coping very well, and still didn't really want to see anyone. He had unsuccessfully tried a few times to see and talk to her, but she had still been dazed and traumatised by her experience and was told, yet again, that it will take time.

But here she was and looking at her was like seeing someone on the edge of death. The curly yellow hair did nothing to bring any colour into the stark, unsmiling face, and her sleepless eyes looked shadowed and tired.

In uncertainty, Tel'ar dropped his spoon into his bowl and stood up as she moved further into the room beside the EMH Doctor. Her eyes widened in sudden recognition and she came to stand so close that she almost stood on his toes.

"You're called Tel'ar Vock, then?" she demanded of him venomously.

"I am," he answered softly. "Amanda, I am so sorry..." he began.

Then, without warning, whom he had thought of as small, weak and ill, brought a fist smashing right onto his jaw with a heavy thud, then jumped quickly out of the way and readied for him hitting her back.

"She could be put on the security team with reflexes like that," murmured one of the crew as startled diners moved to intercede if the fracas escalated."

Although he was very embarrassed, Tel'ar had never hit a female before and wasn't going to start now. "Why?" he asked her whilst rubbing his smarting chin.

"You're one of _them_!"

Tel'ar stared at her for a long moment as he tried to understand her continued unreasonable attitude of blaming him for what others of his race had done to her. Quickly able to put everything into context, he then ignored her readied stance for further combat and strode to the serving counter.

"Neelix, could I have a bowl of stew, please?"

"What's that for?" demanded Amanda as the Doctor urged her to calm down. "To throw at me?"

After taking the bowl and cutlery from a stunned Neelix, Tel'ar went and dumped them on the table next to where he'd been sitting. Then as the rest of the crew waited in bewildered silence, he quickly grabbed Amanda's wrists, dragged her to the table, pushed her down onto the seat and held her there as she tried to get back up.

"You're supposed to be an adult, so stop behaving like a spoilt child and eat!" he finally snapped at her angrily. "I didn't abduct you, torture you or drag you across the Galaxy. Every single person on this ship is stranded far from home, so stop thinking you're the only one and join the living again before everyone's pity for you turns to annoyance at your continual misery." Then without another word to her, and ignoring her threats and abuses, and the bowl of stew as it was pushed angrily across the table, Tel'ar sat back down and carried on eating the quickly cooling contents of his own bowl.

Not long after both he and Vorik began talking again, everyone noticed Amanda timidly reach out for her bowl and begin picking her fork through the dinner. She eventually sighed in resignation and was soon listening to Tel'ar and Vorik's conversation as she ate.

Despite encouragement when they knew she was listening, but having not shown any inclination to speak, when Tel'ar and Vorik had finished their meal, they said goodbye to her, returned their utensils and crockery to Neelix's counter, and then began to head out of the Mess Hall.

The same as everyone she had met aboard Voyager, they had repeatedly offered friendship and encouraged her to join in their conversation, but it wasn't until she saw them more-or-less desert her to choose her own way that she realised that she didn't want them to go. She sat back and sighed in shame as she suddenly realised how uncharacteristically obnoxious she had been to everyone, when in fact; she owed them, and particularly Tel'ar, a big apology. She hurriedly deposited her bowl on the counter, and with a departing smile from Neelix, hurried out after them before they got too far and she got lost.

On hearing Amanda call out to them to wait, Tel'ar and Vorik stopped walking and turned round as she caught up with them, then stood wringing her hands together in obvious uncomfortable uncertainty. Although his Vulcan culture suppressed their feelings, Vorik wasn't blind. He could see the meeting was emotional and politely excused himself for a while.

"I'm afraid I've misjudged you, and I'm sorry," she murmured quietly. "I know it wasn't your fault and thank you for saving my life."

"Apology accepted," answered Tel'ar in relief. "But under the circumstances, it is understandable. You had just gone through a terrible ordeal."

"So had you, but I was ungrateful and said some horrible things to you, which were totally uncalled for," she insisted.

"Like _over-grown elf_?" asked Tel'ar as a grin creased his face. He had since found out what an elf was from the ship's database and found the comparison rather funny.

Amanda groaned in embarrassment.

"A truce and friendship?" suggested Tel'ar and raised his elegant, diagonal eyebrows in enquiry. Despite the fact that he had learnt that humans shook hands on a new friendship or agreement, he wanted to offer her an insight into his own culture. With his fingers all close together, he held his right hand up almost at chest level in front of him with his palm facing her and waited patiently for her to react.

Looking in confusion at his hand, then down at hers and back at his again, she slowly lifted her own right hand in the same way and smiled at the strangeness as he moved forward a step and rested his hand against hers for a few moments.

"Thank you... I'd like that," she whispered.

"You ought to smile more often, it suites you," encouraged Tel'ar as he moved his hand away.

Captain Janeway smiled happily to herself as she edged back into a nearby corridor and walked into the dining room from where the report of the confrontation had come. As a rule, she didn't normally eves-drop, but she had seen Amanda hurry passed as she had neared the end of the cross-section of the corridor, and hearing them talking, had just managed to stop herself from striding round the corner and breaking the tense situation. She stared at the raised hand. _So similar_ _to how a Vulcan would_, she thought.

She now felt confident that although Amanda and Tel'ar weren't quite out of the woods, yet, it looked as though Tel'ar's harsh lecture, then forgiving reaction to being thumped had been the turning point in bringing Amanda closer to embracing and adjusting to her new life.

In silent agreement, Tel'ar and Amanda began taking a steady stroll down the corridor until they stopped at the next Turbo Lift and Tel'ar asked, "Would you like to join a group of us on the Holodeck? Tom Paris is going to introduce me to an old Earth activity called 'surfing."

At first Amanda was surprised, but vaguely remembering some of what the Captain had said about all the different programmes you could find on the Holodeck, she eagerly agreed. "I've never done it before, but I'd love to try."

"Then let's go!"

Stood in the Turbo Lift as it took them down to the lower Deck, Amanda suddenly remembered... "Tel'ar... I haven't got anything to wear that I can swim in!"

Licking his lips and biting back his first thoughts that came to mind, with an amused grin Tel'ar looked down at her worried face and muttered, "We'd better Replicate you something, then!"

The End...


End file.
